Ad-free Youtube videos coming through new subscription service

Google has confirmed what were only rumors until today: ad-free Youtube videos. Most of you, who don’t use AdBlock Plus or another ad blocking service, are familiar with the short video ads, the annotation ads and the generally annoying ads that appear at the beginning and during Youtube videos. Many people have rallied to ask for ad-free Youtube videos countless times, but until now, Google hasn’t said anything about introducing such a feature. Today, however, the search engine giant and owner of Youtube has announced that a new subscription-based service will get rid of the ads on your Youtube videos, at a cost.

Ad-free Youtube videos will be entirely possible with this new subscription service from Google which has been disclosed through a series of emails sent to Youtube partners, describing the service. The fee for this service has not been decided yet, nor has the rollout date been pinned down. According to the emails, the new terms that will regulate this subscription based service and its effects on content creators will go into effect on June 15, but it is unclear whether the ad-free Youtube videos will already be accessible through a subscription.

Judging by Music Key and its tariffs, rumors are that Youtube will price this subscription at under $10 a month, 55 % of which will go to the creators themselves, based on how many people who have bought this ad-free Youtube videos subscription watched their uploads. The rumor right now is that the subscription service will be rolled out sometime this year, although we wouldn’t bet big on that assumption. The fact that Google and Youtube want to smooth legalities out until June 15 does point towards a Summer release date of the service, but the companies have not confirmed these assumptions as of yet.

Ad-free Youtube videos are a great way to engage fans and to monetize on their desire of watching content undisturbed and uninterrupted. Seeing as both Youtube and its partners as well as content creators will benefit from this service, users will most likely have a spur of negative comments about it or flock towards ad blocking add-ons and software, but ultimately, ads are what fuel revenue for Youtubers, so those who are fans will not hesitate to pay for the ad-free Youtube videos subscription service, as long as it’s not overpriced. If the company decides on making this subscription service reasonably affordable, it might be a stepping stone in the way in which we look at internet services.